After a week of mild, autumn weather and a forecast for more of the same through the weekend of the annual Wombat MTB marathon (near Woodend) conditions would be perfect. I was excited to join several of the Topgear crew and 8 or 9 of my regular training buddies, and to get in amongst the brilliant trails. My choice was for the 50km race which proved to be the most popular, with 301 pairs of elbows coming out before everyone was corralled for the start.
On “Go” the first couple of rows disappeared around the dam as the rest of the assembly tried to follow 6 wide on a 3 wide track. Nobody came to grief but there was plenty of defensive chat as all did their best to protect their chosen line. The gradient started to rise which both strung out the bunches and knocked most of the previous chat on the head. A couple of keen volunteers welcomed riders to the end of the climb, pointing them in the direction of the opening section of single track. With this the intensity of the general mood dropped as riders settled into their own pace.
As well marked as the course was I still managed to overshoot a turn. 4 or 5 riders took the advantage of my error and the chance to pass on some generous offers of sarcastic encouragement. I resumed behind them and a few more laughs ensued before an inevitable short but steep pinch became the next silencer, with a couple of tricky switchbacks thrown in. Climbs led to plenty of fast approaches down into rutted corners and a couple of rocky descents seemed to appear out of nowhere to keep everyone on their toes. Once onto any open forest road it was good to be able to team up with another rider and maintain momentum.
About 3km after the midway point was the feed station. I refilled a bottle and was joined by Sam with a proposition to work together to catch the next rider we could see up the road. By the mid point of the next single track we were a group of three. We stuck together along the next length of road but it was soon Sam and I again as the third rider dropped off. Our partnership was working well. I wasn’t as strong over the climbs which made me more determined to stay in contact with him to as close to the finish line as possible. Within 10km to go a clearing to our right and behind us allowed Sam a view over his shoulder as he yelled forward, “We’ve got about 30 seconds over the next bunch. Keep it going”. I lead us into the next single track and turned the screws a little further in a hope to increase the 30 seconds. To our advantage there was a lot of trail ahead of us which we paced well, however, the pinches were starting to take their toll on my legs.
As the trail ended we were spat out onto the dirt road behind the event centre which meant we were onto the final kilometre and a half of the course. Still ahead were the last couple of leg-sapping climbs. The road dropped into a gully then spiked back upwards, I needed every option on the cassette that I could select. At this point Sam had taken the front and checked over his shoulder to see I wasn’t much help to him anymore. I cleared the crest to drive back up through the gears and get a run on for the last gentle rise of the approach road to the finish line. I willed the legs to spin and dragged whatever was left from the depths of the empty energy tanks as Sam slipped further into the distance. The road tipped down through the gates back to the dam which signified the final 100 meters and once again I dropped through the cassette to regain as much speed as possible.
I got to the line to see Sam already across but drop to the ground as cramp plucked him from his bike. We were 7th and 8th in outright placings, my reward for hanging in there with Sam was a category win. Sam was just outside the podium places for his category.
The weather was fine and the trails were tacky to dry (some ground water and big puddles spread across the full width of the four wheel drive tracks). It was fantastic to see so many good results from those I knew racing. It was great fun getting out on the trails.
No comments:
Post a Comment